In her 14 years at Masuk she's had both, and there are championships to prove it. There's three state softball titles in the last seven seasons. There's also a collection of SWC titles -- a remarkable six since 2005.

The Panthers' run of success is unmatched over the last decade -- they've appeared in the state semifinals seven times in the last eight years -- as is their star power in the pitcher's circle.

First there was Rachele Fico, who blew away batters, broke records and won titles during a storied four-year run ending in 2009. Two years later, with Fico already a household name at Louisiana State University, Tatum Buckley arrived at Masuk to carry on the tradition.

Buckley knew all about the recent history, too.

"When we were all 10, playing on all-stars, we all used to go to the games," she said during a recent practice. "Especially at DeLuca (Field in Stratford) after the championships, we used to watch that. We wanted it so bad already back then."

Buckley wanted to help Masuk sustain its success, but her mission wasn't to be Fico. She wanted to carve her own legacy.

"No one tries to break records or anything like that," Buckley said.

The 26 perfect games (a national high school record) belong to Fico. So do the 47 no-hitters, 95 shutouts, 105 wins and the microscopic 0.07 ERA. But Buckley's enjoyed quite the career as well.

Last season, the flame-throwing righty pitched Masuk to a 27-0 record and Class L and SWC championships. She was named the Gatorade State Player of the Year along the way.

Buckley's a large reason why Masuk is atop the preseason state poll. She's expected to be an ace in the pitcher's circle again. She's also expected to be a vocal leader.

Last year, she comfortably handled all the responsibilities that come with stardom. Her four no-hitters, two perfect games and 289 strikeouts all helped give Masuk its first title of any kind since the Fico years. She also batted .506 with 28 RBIs.

"I think last year's group wanted their own identity," Sheftz said. "I think that there was a lot of pressure on them last year, one being undefeated and two, just being able to get their own."

This year, there will be the natural pressure that comes with being the defending champs and preseason No. 1. The Panthers, however, will field a roster similar to last season's powerhouse. Buckley (a Florida Atlantic University commit) is one of five returning senior starters, joining Crisci, third baseman Tori Schiebe, second baseman Stephanie Appelberg and center fielder Brittany Damota. Junior outfielder/infielder Lauren Middlemass also returns to the lineup.

Masuk opens the season Wednesday at Westhill (an FCIAC finalist in four out of the last six years), and the Panthers expect to generate attention.

"I feel like the spotlight's on Masuk because we're going to be a team that people want to beat," Buckley said. "I think it's been like that for a few years now. It's only going to drive us to work harder and harder."

Naturally, this is where they dreamt long ago about being.

"We all would look at Rachele Fico's group and be like, `That's what we want. That's where we want to be,'" Crisci said. "We were striving for it, and now we have our own team."